Tesla is now steadily producing and shipping made-in-China Model 3 out of Gigafactory 3

Drone footage confirms that Tesla is now steadily producing and shipping made-in-China Model 3 vehicles out of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.

In October, Tesla confirmed that it has produced full vehicles at Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai as part of its trial production.

A few weeks later, the automaker obtained its manufacturing license for the new factory in China, but it was still awaiting official sales approval of the made-in-China version of the Model 3.

Earlier this month, we reported that the made-in-China Model 3 was added to the Chinese government’s list of approved vehicles for new energy vehicle subsidies, and deliveries are now expected to start any day.

We reported last week that Tesla had already produced over 400 Model 3 vehicles out of the factory, and it started shipping them out.

Now, a week later, it looks like Tesla is steadily producing and shipping even more made-in-China Model 3 vehicles out of Gigafactory 3.

The latest drone video from Jason Yang shows that the Model 3 lot is still full, and trucks keep coming to take more vehicles away:

The automaker is presumably taking the vehicles to delivery centers around the country, and it is expected to start deliveries to Tesla employees and customers any day now.

In China, the Model 3 Standard Range Plus with Autopilot starts at ¥355,800 (about $50,000).

Tesla has been taking pre-orders for a while now, and the automaker hasn’t disclosed the number of orders it has received.

The company said that it aims to ramp up production to 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week at the factory by early next year.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve been saying that China, and especially Gigafactory 3, is Tesla’s wild card for the fourth quarter.

If Tesla can deliver a few thousand cars out of the factory, it could make a significant difference toward its delivery goal.

However, if Tesla produces a few thousand cars at Gigafactory 3 and still can’t deliver them by the end of the year, that’s just more cars that sit in inventory without any revenue.

Hopefully, the former happens, but either way, the good news is that it looks like Tesla is currently already able to produce the Model 3 in decent numbers out of Gigafactory 3, which bodes well for next year.